GOF
Member
My name is Paul and I suppose I have a motorcycle addiction . I got my first motorized 2 wheeler At age twelve. Notice I didn't say motorcycle as it was a sixth hand Sears moped painted white with (literally) a padded 2x6 for a seat. About this time my mother, thinking I needed to read more got me a subscription to Cycle World, which probably improved my reading ability but distracted me from schoolwork and fueled my lifelong passion for motorcycles. I rode and worked on the moped for a year while saving up to buy something without pedals. For $295 + tax I got a Honda C110 (the sport fifty, not a step through) which was white as well. I rode the snot out of that little bike and learned pretty quick how to adjust the valve clearance as whenever it was run really hard downhill the valves would tighten up and it would only run at idle speed. 
Next bike was a Honda SL90 I think (tube frame, telescopic forks) I had it about two weeks and it threw a chain wrapping around the countershaft sprocket thrashing the transmission. Dealer insisted it was my fault, no warranty help. Got it home from the shop rode it about twenty minutes and put on a trailer to go to Red River NM when I got it off the trailer and cranked it there was a strange noise coming from the engine for about ten seconds. Next morning I took the clutch cover off and discovered a bolt had backed out of the oil pump and wore down to the snap ring that held the clutch together. When we got home it went to the other Honda dealer in Fort Worth (Terry's Honda) where they discovered the other guys had put super 90 parts in the transmission. I think this experience made me appreciate the term Stealership.
Some where about 16 I discovered girls and bikes took a back seat for a while. I married while in college and convinced my wife I needed a motorcycle to save money on gas, as gas had gotten to the unthinkable price of 75 cents a gallon! It was an XL250 Honda which I rode to class and even rode an enduro once. I rewarded my college graduation with the purchase of a white XT500 Yamaha which helped me develop an attitude that I could kickstart anything on two wheels :-\ : I even rode that in a few enduros. That was followed by a Honda CX500 (the really ugly first version and the last NEW bike I bought) which was teaching me the joys of street riding until I got hit by an eighteen wheeler. No, I was in a pickup at the time but was to traumatized to ride on the street for years. I traded the CX500 to a buddy for an IT250 and rode enduros for a few more years. I kept a dirt bike to chase cows and play on but didn't ride on the street again until the mid 90's when I rescued a Seca 750 from the local pawn shop. I rode it for a year to make sure I would continue to enjoy street riding again and then bought a BLACK R100gs (got that out of my system) , followed by a red ST1100 which I still miss. In October 2003 I got to ride a Vstrom for about thirty minutes and knew it would be my next bike . I watched every forum and website but just couldn't find a deal that suited me. Finally in the spring of 05 I found a deal on a well farkled BLACK wee and flew to Pensacola to ride it home. I enjoyed that bike immensely but never forgot about that ride on the Vee. A buddy of mine offered me a deal on an 05 BLACK Vee about three years ago and i bought it and traded the wee for a DRZ400. The Vee makes me grin whenever I crank on the throttle but I feel very certain the White Super Tenere I am to pick up Oct. 1 will make me happier. ::001::
I have read this forum a lot the last few weeks and despite the talk of vibrating clutches and fueling glitches you haven't scared me away from the SupTen. Hell, I've been ridng a VStrom for nearly ten years!
Next bike was a Honda SL90 I think (tube frame, telescopic forks) I had it about two weeks and it threw a chain wrapping around the countershaft sprocket thrashing the transmission. Dealer insisted it was my fault, no warranty help. Got it home from the shop rode it about twenty minutes and put on a trailer to go to Red River NM when I got it off the trailer and cranked it there was a strange noise coming from the engine for about ten seconds. Next morning I took the clutch cover off and discovered a bolt had backed out of the oil pump and wore down to the snap ring that held the clutch together. When we got home it went to the other Honda dealer in Fort Worth (Terry's Honda) where they discovered the other guys had put super 90 parts in the transmission. I think this experience made me appreciate the term Stealership. Some where about 16 I discovered girls and bikes took a back seat for a while. I married while in college and convinced my wife I needed a motorcycle to save money on gas, as gas had gotten to the unthinkable price of 75 cents a gallon! It was an XL250 Honda which I rode to class and even rode an enduro once. I rewarded my college graduation with the purchase of a white XT500 Yamaha which helped me develop an attitude that I could kickstart anything on two wheels :-\ :
I even rode that in a few enduros. That was followed by a Honda CX500 (the really ugly first version and the last NEW bike I bought) which was teaching me the joys of street riding until I got hit by an eighteen wheeler. No, I was in a pickup at the time but was to traumatized to ride on the street for years. I traded the CX500 to a buddy for an IT250 and rode enduros for a few more years. I kept a dirt bike to chase cows and play on but didn't ride on the street again until the mid 90's when I rescued a Seca 750 from the local pawn shop. I rode it for a year to make sure I would continue to enjoy street riding again and then bought a BLACK R100gs (got that out of my system) , followed by a red ST1100 which I still miss. In October 2003 I got to ride a Vstrom for about thirty minutes and knew it would be my next bike . I watched every forum and website but just couldn't find a deal that suited me. Finally in the spring of 05 I found a deal on a well farkled BLACK wee and flew to Pensacola to ride it home. I enjoyed that bike immensely but never forgot about that ride on the Vee. A buddy of mine offered me a deal on an 05 BLACK Vee about three years ago and i bought it and traded the wee for a DRZ400. The Vee makes me grin whenever I crank on the throttle but I feel very certain the White Super Tenere I am to pick up Oct. 1 will make me happier. ::001::I have read this forum a lot the last few weeks and despite the talk of vibrating clutches and fueling glitches you haven't scared me away from the SupTen. Hell, I've been ridng a VStrom for nearly ten years!
